I Painted the Sunset
by strangled voice
Summary: Jess is a tough guy. Lizzie is an artist. Venice is home, for now at least. (Author's Note: Lizzie's a friend. This is a literati fic. Rory will show up before too long.)


Author's note:  I had this idea just now.  It's more of a fanfiction for the Jess spinoff, but since we don't even have an episode of that yet, let alone a fanfic section, I'm putting it with "Gilmore Girls."  This is a bit of a spoiler story.  It has factoids about Jess' dad and his life in Venice, so if you don't want that kind of information don't read this story.  There's an excerpt from the pilot script in the spoiler section of gilmoregirls.org, so you can find some info there.

Before you read read this:  This story begins about 3 weeks after Jess moves to Venice.  He's getting to know his father and his father's girlfriend, as well as his father's girlfriend's daughter.  

Rating: PG-13, for the possibility of swearing

The chapter title is a song by Ivy.  It's on the "Roswell" soundtrack.

Edge of the Ocean 

            Jess sat down on the bench and pulled his headphones down over his ears.  He dug into his backpack and pulled out a thick orange and green book.  Unlike most of the novels Jess carried with him, this one did not look very loved.  Usually his books were tattered and looked as though they'd been folded in half, and they often had.  Jess opened the book to the middle and quickly became engrossed in the story.  He did, however, look up when someone plopped down beside him.

            "Watcha readin' this time?" asked the curly haired brunette.  She had dark blue eyes that were slightly hidden behind thin silver glasses, and a wide smile.  Her California tan made her look somewhat exotic, and her somewhat wacky clothes (a pale yellow t-shirt and a long, paint splattered skirt with equally paint splattered tennis shoes) only added to that.

            "Well hello to you, too, Lizzie," Jess said with his trademark smirk.  

            "Hi, Jess," she said with an exasperated sigh.  "What book are you reading?"

            "Bless Me, Ultima."  His smirk changed to a grimace.

            "Chicano, Anaya, doesn't really seem like you."

            "It's not. A friend lent it to me."

            "Gasp.  Jess has friends?  This Jess?  I'm shocked.  I don't know if I can go on."

            "Oh shut up, Lizzie.  A friend back home."

            "In New York?"

            "Stars Hollow."

            "You consider your hick town home?"

            "No—well, maybe."

            "So you had friends in said hick town."

            "One."

            "A girl?"

            "Yup."

            "Does she have a name?"

            "Rory."

            "Weird name."

            "It's short for Lorelai."

            "Oh."

            "Did you and Rory go—"

            "You know, I don't really want to talk about Rory right now."

            "Okay.  Sorry."

            "So what are you reading now?"

            "Catcher in the Rye."

            "Weren't you reading that two weeks ago?"

            "I'm rereading it again.  This is the eleventh time."

            "God!"

            "Yeah, well…You know, you kind of remind me of Holden."

            "Why?  The New York thing?"

            "Well, yeah, and you just seem to be kind of like him."

            "Oh.  Come to think of it, I have been compared to him before."

            "Well, than that proves I'm not completely insane.  It's just, a quality you've got.  The whole, rebel without a cause thing."

            "Who says I don't have a cause."

            "No one.  Nevermind.  Anyway.  You look glum."

            "Glum?"

            "You know, moody, upset, like you need some cheering up."  

The expression on Jess' face grew fearful.  "Oh no you don't.  I'm not going along with whatever crackpot scheme you've got going now."

"No crackpot scheme.  I just thought you might like to go to the boardwalk with me."

            "Why?"

            "I don't know.  To go surfing or something."

            "Unh-uh.  You are not teaching me to surf."

            "Please, Jess.  I promise if you don't like it we can go home."

            "No."

            "Please."

            "No."

Three Hours Later 

            Jess maneuvered his way around the dogs and began walking into the house that was now his home.  As he headed up the stairs he was stopped by his new found father, Jimmy.

            "Hey, Jess, do you want to join us for dinner?"

            "Uh, no thanks.  I'm not really the all-American family, sit down dinner kind of a guy."

            "Well, in this house we all eat dinner together.  We'd really appreciate it if you'd join us."  

            Jess could see his "sister," Lily, standing behind his father.  She had taken an instant liking to Jess, and while he normally couldn't stand little kids, especially if they were female (Dean's little sister being a prime example), he had to admit that she was sweet, and she had one killer puppy dog look.  "Fine," he said with a sigh.  The three walked into the dining room and sat down at the table.

            "Nice to have you join us, Jess," said Sasha, Jimmy's girlfriend, as she came into the room.  She settled into her seat across the table from Jimmy, and everyone began to dish up.  

            "So, Jess, what did you do today?" asked Lily from her seat next to him.  

            "Uh, my friend Lizzie tried to teach me to surf."  

            "Oh," said Jimmy looking up from his peas.  "Did you enjoy it?"  Jess had learned early on that Jimmy was a surfing fanatic.  Unfortunately, that trait definitely wasn't genetic.

            "Uh, I fell off 12 times."

            "And how many times did you try?"

            "11."  
            "Oh."  The subject was dropped and the rest of the evening was spent in silence. 

~

Short, I know.  There will be more in the next chapter.

Word Count: 735


End file.
